Composite materials offer potential design improvements in gas turbine engines. For example, in recent years composite materials have been replacing metals in gas turbine engine components because of their high strength and low weight. Typical composite components can be formed of a plurality of two-dimensional filament reinforced plies or laminations stacked on each other. These can be cut and stacked in a mold. The mold can then be injected with a resin and cured. The strength of the plies is high in the plane of the plies and lowest normal to the plane, through the thickness.